News from Die Kohle-Manufaktur

The days of tripod barbecues with charcoal are over. Slowly but surely the trend towards professional barbecuing is spreading to us and you can join in: with Premium BBQ Briquettes by Die Kohle-Manufaktur.

Winter barbecuing with “Die Kohle-Manufaktur”

Winter barbecuing with “Die Kohle-Manufaktur”

20/10/15

Winter barbecuing with “Die Kohle-Manufaktur”
Cologne, 20 October, 2015: More than half of Germans barbecue in summer at least once a month. The most important reason being good weather. But the days of purely fair-weather barbecuing are over. This once summer-exclusive hobby is increasingly becoming a year-round delight. In the USA, every second person barbecues all year round, even in winter. In Germany, it is already one in four – and rising. In addition to warm clothing and delicious food for grilling, cooking time and quality of the charcoal have to be right of course. Smokeless Premium BBQ Briquettes by Die Kohle-Manufaktur guarantee consistently high temperatures even in sub-zero conditions – and last up to 4.5 hours.

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Outdoor cooking is becoming more popular. And so, many Germans are investing in an outdoor kitchen, which of course you will want to use for more than the often too short summer. But even with people who do not have an outdoor kitchen, barbecuing in the winter is becoming more and more in vogue. After all, six percent of Germans have a barbecue to welcome the New Year. Of course, the BBQ repertoire changes in winter. Instead of sausage, steak and vegetables it’s good to sometimes go a little heartier. From goulash soup or cabbage roulade right up to roast pork – the imagination knows no bounds. More and more people are preparing their festive menu on the BBQ to make the Christmas holidays even more of a party. How about Christmas turkey from the BBQ? This job needs charcoal that works reliably and produces enough heat over a long period. Die Kohle-Manufaktur’s BBQ Briquettes, with up to 4.5 hours burning time, are certainly up to this challenge and also can be lit smokelessly. “Our barbecue briquettes are especially ideal for the ‘long jobs’ – barbecuing foods with long cooking times,” explains Frank Stormanns, Product Developer at Die Kohle-Manufaktur. “Even when outside temperatures are around freezing, our barbecue briquettes prove their strength and provide a long period of continuous heat.”

Tips for winter barbecuing
Whether short or long cooking times: When barbecuing in winter the lid should always be on to prevent the food cooling down or burning. We also recommend side dishes straight from the BBQ. Warm vegetables or baked potatoes can work better in winter than a cold salad. And hot drinks like cocoa or mulled wine bridge the gap until the food is ready and take the edge off the cold air. A punch or a “Feuerzangenbowle” burnt punch will not only raise your body temperature, but get everyone into a great mood. You can of course prepare them and keep them warm on the grill. This is best done with indirect heat and not by placing the pot directly above the briquettes. Because of their long burning time, BBQ briquettes by Die Kohle-Manufaktur are ideal for this. “In particular, you can prepare a complete menu with our BBQ briquettes, which offer an easy solution for a whole evening’s barbecuing action without the annoyance of having to add more coal”, Stormanns adds. For example, the crowning glory to a winter barbecue menu can be a delicious baked apple or apple crumble with custard. Well then: Good luck for the winter barbecuing season!

Red Dot Award for Die Kohle-Manufaktur

Red Dot Award for Die Kohle-Manufaktur

13/08/15

Award-winning: Premium BBQ Briquettes Packaging Design!
Cologne / Essen, 13 August 2015. The results of the Red Dot Award: Communication Design 2015 have been announced. The international Red Dot jury has chosen the best of the year from a total of more than 7,400 entries submitted from 53 countries. Die Kohle-Manufaktur is among the winners in the “Packaging Design” category. The brand came onto the market in May 2015 with its Premium Smokeless BBQ Briquettes and Premium Fuel Paste.

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Die Kohle-Manufaktur’s premium packaging may immediately display the Red Dot Award. The packaging design was developed along with its overall brand image by the Cologne-based Counterpart Agency and implemented together with Die Kohle-Manufaktur, and is specifically aimed at a quality-conscious audience. The purity of the coal briquettes in their pressed form is bought across visually on the packaging, printed on high quality FSC paper. The golden insignia and the Premium BBQ Briquettes lettering accentuate the quality aspect of the product. Die Kohle-Manufaktur is treading new paths with the packaging design too: An important feature of the design is the unusual shopping bag packaging format for this product category in 2.5kg and 5kg bags. And yet another highlight is the user-friendly pull-tab that allows consumers to pour out the briquettes in a neat and tidy way. This compact packaging design is completed by bold product characteristics: up to 4.5 hours burning time + smokeless. “Our design represents what is in the package: Premium quality in its purest form,” says Caroline Schäfer, Head of Marketing at Die Kohle-Manufaktur. “The Red Dot Award is proof that we have achieved this in a creative way.”

Information about the Red Dot Award
This award has been an internationally recognized quality seal for product design since 1954. Never before have so many ideas – 7,451 within the 17 categories – been submitted for the Red Dot Award as we have seen this year. The expert jury was also correspondingly large – consisting of designers, design professors and journalists – chosen to reward the most creative designs by designers, agencies and companies. “The fact that we have put ourselves up against the industry’s best makes us especially proud,” Schäfer commented on receiving the winning notification. The official award ceremony took place in Berlin on 6 November.

It’s a Question of Faith: Charcoal vs. BBQ briquettes

It’s a Question of Faith: Charcoal vs. BBQ briquettes

06/08/15

It’s a Question of Faith: Charcoal vs. BBQ briquettes
Cologne, 6 August, 2015: Whether the decision goes to charcoal or barbecue briquettes depends on many factors, and often simply on personal preferences and beliefs. Charcoal and barbecue briquettes differ in particular in material properties, ignition behaviour, burning time and heat. Premium BBQ Briquettes by Die Kohle-Manufaktur set new standards.

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While charcoal is made of carbonized wood, briquettes are made of charcoal dust and small pieces of charcoal or alternatively from activated carbon. These are pressed under high pressure with organic starch as a binder. The fuel in Premium BBQ Briquettes by Die Kohle-Manufaktur is pure carbon of the highest quality, which is also used as activated carbon. Unlike charcoal, this activated carbon does not contain carbon or hydrocarbon compounds, which are harmful both to health and in their impact on the environment in combustion. Our Premium BBQ Briquettes consist of more than 80 percent carbon, which is mixed with food starch as a binder. Conventional briquettes have a much longer burning time of about three hours due to their higher density, compared with charcoal at just one hour. Die Kohle-Manufaktur’s Premium BBQ Briquettes perform even better due to their purity and unique composition, giving an impressive burning time of up to 4.5 hours. Briquettes are much better suited for dishes that require long cooking times or for a long and leisurely barbecue – doing away with the troublesome business of having to top up the coal.

Charcoal needs about 25 minutes to reach optimum heat. BBQ briquettes, though, need about 50 minutes before the barbecuing fun can begin. However, this can be reduced to about 30 minutes with a conventional charcoal chimney. Charcoal pieces vary in size, resulting in an uneven distribution of heat on the grill. Briquettes glow evenly, slowly and controlled. However, there are big differences between different briquettes. Cheap barbecue briquettes often disintegrate and ash can land on the food. In addition, tropical wood is often used to make them. BBQ briquettes from Die Kohle-Manufaktur are produced exclusively in Germany from home-made actived carbon and are therefore a genuine “Made in Germany” product. A common misconception is that the barbecue briquettes contain sulphur due to their light beige ash. “We can rebut this rumour 100 percent”, explains Product Developer Frank Stormanns. “Quite the contrary: The resulting limestone colour results from mineral ingredients of natural origin.”

Conclusion: Quality has its price
If you want to quickly grill some sausages or a steak, a few barbecue briquettes or normal charcoal will do. For a long leisurely barbecue among friends however, our barbecue briquettes are much better with their uniform distribution of heat and long-lasting burning time.
You shouldn’t really bother with cheap briquettes either but instead rely on home-produced briquettes – such as those by Die Kohle-Manufaktur. Our Premium BBQ Briquettes are especially suitable for high-quality food and for dishes that require a long cooking time. Combined with Premium Fuel Paste by Die Kohle-Manufaktur they provide smokeless lighting and pure barbecuing enjoyment.